amazake

{{short description|Japanese drink made from fermented rice}}

{{More citations needed|date=August 2021}}

{{Italic title|reason=:Category:Japanese words and phrases}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Amazake

| image = Amazake by emily harbour in july.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = A cup of amazake

| alternate_name =

| country = Japan

| region = East Asia

| national_cuisine = Japanese cuisine

| creator = Kofun period in Japan

| course = Drink

| type = Plant milk

| served = Warm, room temperature, or cold

| main_ingredient = Fermented rice

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

File:Amazake-from-supermarket-2019.jpg

{{nihongo|Amazake|甘酒||extra={{IPA|ja|amazake|}}}} is a traditional sweet, low-alcohol or non-alcoholic Japanese drink made from fermented rice. {{cite journal |last1=Goldbeck |first1=David |last2=Goldbeck |first2=Nikki |date=October 1989 |title=Vegetarian Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uQcAAAAAMBAJ&dq=Amazake&pg=PA65 |issue=146 |pages=65}} Amazake dates from the Kofun period, and it is mentioned in the Nihon Shoki.{{Cite web |last=Studarus |first=Laura |title=Uncovering amazake: Japan's ancient fermented 'superdrink' |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200317-uncovering-amazake-japans-ancient-fermented-superdrink |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=www.bbc.com |date=18 March 2020 |language=en}} It is part of the family of traditional Japanese foods made using the koji mold {{nihongo|Aspergillus oryzae|麹|kōji}}, which also includes miso, soy sauce, and sake.Shurtleff, W.; Aoyagi. A. 1988. Amazake and Amazake Frozen Desserts. Lafayette, California: Soyfoods Center. 69 + [52] pp.{{cite book |last1=Shurtleff |first1=William |last2=Aoyagi |first2=Akiko |title=History of Koji – Grains and/or Soybeans Enrobed in a Mold Culture (300 BCE to 2021): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook |date=2021 |publisher=Soyinfo Center |location=Lafayette, CA |isbn=9781948436564 |url=https://www.soyinfocenter.com/pdf/265/Koji.pdf}}

There are several recipes for amazake that have been used for hundreds of years. By a popular recipe, kōji is added to cooled whole grain rice causing enzymes to break down the carbohydrates into simpler unrefined sugars. As the mixture incubates, sweetness develops naturally.{{cite web|url=http://www.mitoku.com/products/amazake/index.html|title=Amazake-Sweet Ambrosia|publisher=Mitoku|access-date=23 January 2010|archive-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927041334/https://www.mitoku.com/products/amazake/index.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Amazake |url=http://japanesefood.about.com/od/japanesefoodglossary/g/Japanese_Amazake_Drink.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716053350/http://japanesefood.about.com/od/japanesefoodglossary/g/Japanese_Amazake_Drink.htm |archive-date=16 July 2011 |access-date=23 January 2010 |publisher=About.com}} By another recipe, sake kasu is mixed with water and sugar is added.{{Cite web |title=おうちで簡単 酒粕で甘酒の作り方 作り方・レシピ |trans-title=Simple at-home recipe to make sake kasu amazake |url=https://www.kurashiru.com/recipes/7da37379-fe54-4e97-9f34-7dae42f17150 |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=クラシル |language=ja}}

Amazake can be used as a dessert, snack, natural sweetening agent, salad dressing or smoothie. One traditional amazake drink, prepared by combining amazake and water, heated to a simmer, and often topped with a pinch of finely grated ginger, was popular with street vendors, and it is still served at inns, teahouses, and at festivals. Many Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples provide or sell it in the New Year.{{Cite web |date=2020-12-30 |title=正月に甘酒を飲むのはどうして？神社などで配られる理由 |trans-title=Why is amazake drank on New Years? Here are the reasons why it is distributed by places such as shrines. |url=https://select-pharmacy.jp/goods/archives/8415 |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=SELECT PHARMACY（セレクトファーマーシー） |archive-date=15 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415071247/https://select-pharmacy.jp/goods/archives/8415 |url-status=dead }} In the 20th century, an instant version became available.

Amazake contains many nutrients, including vitamin B1, B2, B6, folic acid, dietary fiber, oligosaccharide, cysteine, arginine and glutamine.{{cite book |last=Belleme |first=John |author2=Jan Belleme |title=Japanese Foods That Heal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVz0tjE2NZAC&q=Amazake&pg=PA55 |access-date=2008-05-13 |year=2007 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=978-0-8048-3594-7 |pages=55–58}} It is often considered a hangover cure in Japan.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200317-uncovering-amazake-japans-ancient-fermented-superdrink |first=Laura |last=Studarus |title=Uncovering amazake: Japan's ancient fermented 'superdrink' |work=BBC Travel |date=18 March 2020 |access-date=15 April 2023}} Outside Japan, it is often sold in Asian grocery stores during the winter months, and, all year round, in natural food stores in the U.S. and Europe, as a beverage and natural sweetener.

Similar beverages include the Chinese jiuniang which is more pudding like and Korean gamju or sikhye. In grape winemaking, must – sweet, thick, unfermented grape juice – is a similar product.